by Le Vinson

Viral Marketing is one of the best ways for you to sell a product or service – in fact, it’s one of the best ways to make a lot of sales. In case you don’t have anything to sell, it is also one of the best way to sell as an affiliate.

Interesting? Yes, since the way of viral marketing work by replicating itself, you don’t need to put a lot of money into a marketing campaign, or to have a big list – but you can still make a big impact.

First of all, what is viral marketing exactly. According to Wikipedia, “Viral Marketing refers to marketing techniques that use preexisting social networks to produce increases in brand awareness, through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of pathological and computer viruses. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily. Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, images, or even text messages.”

But that sounds a little complicated, don’t you think? To break it down into plain English, basically Viral Marketing is just a way of getting a bunch of people to tell other people about something you’ve created to build a buzz about your product or service. And by passing it around to other people, it builds social proof. Sometimes you get lucky and the more it’s passed around the more it takes on a life of its own.

A perfect example is the “Free Hugs” video on YouTube. It has been viewed by millions of people, and the music – a song written by a group called the “Sick Puppies.” That video was responsible for launching their singing career – even though that was not the original intention. That video – and the story behind it went viral and caught the attention – and the hearts – of people all over the world. It even spawned a movement that is still going on.

Although you might not be able to pull off a viral marketing campaign that does as well as the “Free Hugs” video, if you are willing to spend a little time researching your market and your target audience, and can think outside the box, you can create a very successful viral marketing campaign of your own.

What kind of things can go viral? Obviously videos. In fact, if you look at most of the “gurus” in the Internet Marketing field right now, you’ll see they’re all heavily using videos to promote their launches and create marketing campaigns that go viral. But if you don’t have the capability to make videos, you can go with the older materials – “special reports”, podcasts, white paper, and even case studies all have a ability to “go viral” and attract a lot of people interested in what you are saying – and finally sell.

In order to make a successful viral marketing campaign, the most important is you should find a right mix of media, marketing and audience. The targeted audience should be interested in what you have to say, and make sure the way you’re saying and the way you’re going to bring their attention should be tested carefully. If you prepare these three things right, you’re on the right track to be a winner of the race, and the next marketing campaign will definitely go viral too.

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